Paul Ryan gets hero's welcome in House

Once again, Rep. Paul Ryan was the Republican rock star on Capitol Hill.

In a members-only meeting, one House Republican after another waited in line to snap a photo with their party’s vice presidential nominee. Cheers echoed through the House chamber as Ryan entered for the first time since being named Mitt Romney’s running mate. Even some House Democrats clapped as Ryan came to cast his vote.

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Surrounded by an army of aides, Ryan arrived around the Capitol around 4:30 p.m.. He sidestepped policy questions from the press as he walked briskly in and out of Speaker John Boehner’s suite of offices, where the informal meet-and-greet with lawmakers was being held.

“Oh, I’m just here to see some friends,” Ryan said. After the meeting, he told reporters he missed the Capitol, adding that he has a “lot of good memories here.”

Inside the conference room, lawmakers mingled over soft drinks, largely veering away from policy talk as they caught up with the House Budget Committee chairman, members said. He gave his congressional colleagues tidbits of life on the campaign trail,such as telling Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) that he hadn’t driven a car in a month.

“We all stood and talked to him in a group for a while,” Long told reporters afterward. “I was up pretty close to him and all of a sudden, they decided to push everybody back in line to get a photo. But I figured I’ll have time to do that later.”

“I don’t think asking or getting into some sort of policy discussion with Paul in the position that he’s in is the proper thing to do, you know?” said Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.), who said Ryan told him to straighten his tie. “As a colleague of ours, as a member to member, we’re just glad to see him back.”

“He just talked about his family,” added Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio). “The kids are in school and trying to be as normal as possible.”

Ryan was on the Hill Thursday to vote on a critical measure to keep the federal government funded through next March. Democrats were more than eager to greet Ryan on his first trip back to Congress, rolling out web videos and floor speeches designed to highlight his controversial budget blueprint and his plan to revamp Medicare.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office released a nearly three-minute video titled “Welcome Back Mr. Ryan!” that spliced together clips of Ryan defending his votes on the so-called budget sequester and a brief segment of him getting booed at a town hall meeting.

“It’s nice to see Paul Ryan back here in Congress,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said before haranguing Ryan over Medicare and taxes. “It will be even nicer to see him back here as a full-time member in January.”

But Republicans were thrilled to see him. Even lawmakers running in competitive districts this fall said they didn’t feel the need to distance themselves from Ryan during his brief visit to Capitol Hill.

“I know that he certainly has created even more enthusiasm among people who like our cause,” said Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.). “I think he’s acquitted himself exceedingly well as the vice presidential candidate.”

“All Paul Ryan is doing is raising the awareness as to what the true threat of Medicare” is, said Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.).

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Ryan had called up Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the House Republican’s conference chairman, and told him he was free during the afternoon and that he would head over to the Capitol.

“We’re excited to see him back, absolutely,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told POLITICO. “We’re very proud of him and look forward to a successful campaign.”

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ryan’s counterpart on the House Budget Committee, was spotted chatting in the House chamber with the vice presidential nominee as lawmakers gathered for their last round of votes late Thursday afternoon.

Van Hollen is playing the role of Ryan in debate prep, and told reporters earlier Thursday that he hadn’t communicated with Ryan since he left a message congratulating him on Romney’s decision to add him to the GOP ticket. The Maryland Democrat said he has met with Vice President Joe Biden once and that the campaign will “kick [debate preparations] into higher gear in a little bit.”

Readers' Comments (29)

adding that he has a “lot of good memories here.” What other memories would he have?(((Ryan's only job in the private sector. Worked as consultant for a construction company run by his relatives. He is a Career Politician, his strings pulled by lobbyist Grover Norquist and people like the Koch brothers, to get money to get elected. ))

NBC/WSJ poll: Approval of Congress hits bottom NBC's Chuck Todd and the National Journal's Major Garrett discuss the latest NBC News/WSJ poll. By NBC's Mark Murray Follow @mmurraypolitics The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that the approval rating for Congress has tied its all-time low in the history of the survey, while its disapproval rating has tied its all-time high. According to the poll, only 12 percent of registered voters approve of the legislative branch's job. The only other time it was that low was in Oct. 2008.

When Mitt and Paul win - they will cut taxes on the RICH altogether. We will then donate enough money so that they won't have to worry about re-election.

When they free me from the unbearable FIFTEEN PERCENT chains I toil under, I will repay them generously, as will the rest of my people. REMEMBER, with enough MONEY to spend ANYONE can be SWIFTBOATED! And thanks to CU, we can SPEND AS MUCH AS WE WANT!

You politico libs are so amusing, all angry and out of sorts. Just think how much that's gonna sting when your affirmative action darlin', President Other loses in November. You're finally gonna have to follow Bill Clinton's advice and "put some ice on that..."

You politico libs are so amusing, all angry and out of sorts. Just think how much that's gonna sting when your affirmative action darlin', President Other loses in November. You're finally gonna have to follow Bill Clinton's advice and "put some ice on that..."

Ya know, I'm not God and I don't have a crystal ball but I would not bet on that. Romney and Lyin' Ryan do a pretty good job of putting their little feet in their big mouthes. AND, they both have a problem with the truth.

Lyin' Ryan? Man,you need a new antenna for that black & white set you must be watchin'. The only things they said that were true at the DNC were that the Dems were against God and that they don't recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel... everything else was a fantasy... they even showed Russian warships in a tribute to the American military. Get ready for a BIG disappointment

REMEMBER, with enough MONEY to spend ANYONE can be SWIFTBOATED! And thanks to CU, we can SPEND AS MUCH AS WE WANT!

Very true Tom; right before the election they will come up with some grand lie. Something like Obama is a Mormon. A religion that takes away the miraculous virgin-birth of Jesus, the virginal conception a doctrine of Christianity. A Mormon, a religion who's God came to earth from another planet and in human form, had physical sex with Mary.(Would Mary do that?) Oh Mormon god darn it. I forgot, Romneys a Mormon. A Religion that belives they can become god of another planet. (More than one God? Doesn't sound Christian to me.) I think Romney wants to be the new God on this planet, all the other planets must be taken. So if Romneys Mormon, the GOP puppets having there strings pulled by lobbyist Grover Norquist and people like the Koch brothers, will have to come up with another grand lie, to swift boat Obama.

Romney and Ryan have a problem, big problem. And all of the followers of Romney and Ryan have a problem. It is called the Constitution.

U S Constitution, Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. Definition of terms Vatican - A foreign, hostile government to the US. The Vatican has no allies, only "subjects" (subjects are what are left after subjugation).. The Vatican does not negotiate with any nation, the history is strictly subjugation. The document the Vatican uses as the "guiding" of the Vatican is the Catholic Catechism. (Catholid bible).. The Vatican has never, nor will ever accept any document (such as the US Constitution) to be above the Catholic Catechism. (Catholid bible).. Therefore, peace is not possible. The Vatican is at war aganinst any and all nations that are not of the Catholic dogma. This war is unending. Catholic - An agent or spy for the Vatican. These spies and agents may claim to be "citizens" of another nation (for instance, the USA), however, the true alliance is with the Vatican. Thus "China, like any other country in the world, has the duty to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei all the Catholics (R and D alike) that have joined together to keep the borders open are traitors. I have a question. Is there a successful Catholic nation in the world? Please name one. Do not vote for failure, R or D.

So, Romney and Ryan, Boehner,Biden, Pilosi and all the rest of the Catholics (R and D alike) that have joined together to keep the borders open are traitors. A quote for you. "China, like any other country in the world, has the duty to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei

I have a question. Is there a successful Catholic nation in the world? Please name one. Do not vote for failure, R or D.